


living on a feeling that's been running through our veins

by em_23



Series: the kids aren’t alright [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Movie Night, Multi, Post 1x9, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:55:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27000817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/em_23/pseuds/em_23
Summary: “Movie night.” Reggie said excitedly, moving to sit down on the mattress that was situated on the ground, his hand eagerly patting the area next to him and gesturing with his head for Nick to join him.orAfter being possessed by Caleb, there's not much in Nick's life that feels normal, but a movie night with two ghosts and the girl he likes feels just right.
Relationships: Luke Patterson/Julie Molina/Reggie/Nick, Nick/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: the kids aren’t alright [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1970626
Comments: 17
Kudos: 156





	living on a feeling that's been running through our veins

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by those beautiful, bumbling idiots on tumblr, ask-reggie-thebassist, ask-guitarist-luke, ask-singer-julie and ask-nickster. 
> 
> Thanks for inspiring me, you guys, it's an honour to write with you all. 
> 
> Special mention to askalex-thedrummer, askwillie-the-sk8erboi, askflynn-thedj, askcaleb-themagician and ask-carrie-wilson.
> 
> title taken from Now or Never - Sunset Curve.

It had taken Nick almost a month to accept the invitation, his mind still drawn to the memory of himself outside of Julie’s house, the day after her show at The Orpheum. 

The way that Caleb had so easily stepped forward, grabbed him by the shoulders and exhaled the purple spray that had taken over his body for three weeks. 

He’d ended up losing almost a month of his life, his mind blank and dark through the entirety that Caleb used his body to get closer to Julie and the Phantoms. 

He hesitantly walked down the driveway, gripping his backpack that was over his right shoulder and glancing around him, expecting the magician to once again appear in front of him and start the cycle all over. 

“Nick.” He heard a voice speak and he couldn’t hide the way he jolted, the way that his stomach twisted and his thoughts reverting too ‘not this, not again’. 

At his jump the owner of the voice stepped off the porch and onto the pavement, hands in pockets and a concerned look on his face, “Sorry.” Luke spoke, taking a few moments before nodding his head in the direction of the path that led around to the garage, “Julie said you should come straight around. Alex is out with Willie, so it’s just the four of us.” 

The one and only upside that Nick had discovered about being possessed by Caleb was his new found ability to see and touch the three ghosts in Julie’s band. 

It had been a shock at first, thinking that he was imagining something out of the corner of his eye when he saw Luke in the hallway at school, or Reggie jammed behind a desk at the back of the room during class, or Alex sitting next to Julie in the cafeteria, the two of them shoulder to shoulder looking down at the phone in her hands. 

But in the weeks since his possession (even thinking of the word made him feel cold, the shiver running down his back extending and chilling his body) he’d gotten used to seeing the three ghosts, his stomach turning with what felt a lot like butterflies at a glance from Luke or Reggie, or how comfortable he felt being around Alex. 

They’d been a nice reminder that all the ghosts out there  _ weren’t _ like Caleb Covington and that the chance of him being possessed again were slim. 

Nick nodded at Luke’s words, taking one last moment to glance over his shoulder to ensure there was no one standing there wearing a cape and top hat, and following the guitarist to the garage along the path. 

The two of them walked in comfortable silence, pretending that he didn’t see the way Luke glanced over at him every few paces, like he was the ghost out of the two of them that was going to disappear. 

The first week after the word that we’re not going to mention again was hard, he felt like he’d lost touch with everything around him, friends, family and most importantly his music, it had taken him eighteen days to pick up his guitar again and another four to run his fingers over the strings to play a chord. 

When he entered the garage he felt Julie and Reggie’s eyes fall on him, Reggie almost immediately moving too fast towards the teenager, his steps slowed by a glance from Julie. 

The first week after the incident (that’s what we’re going to call it from now on) after he got past the wrongness and fear of being touched by someone else, ghost or not, he’d become accustomed to Reggie’s hugs, the way he wrapped his arms so easily around anyone and pulled them in close, the kind of hug that reminded him of his parents. 

Reggie slowed his approach but still wrapped his arms around Nick easily, and the guitarist was unsure if he was used to the touches by now or had just gotten better at hiding his small flinches at the contact. 

Even though the contact felt foreign at first, there was something about the hug, or maybe the sharp smell of pine and faded leather that encompassed Reggie and made him feel safer. 

Nick smiled as Reggie pulled free from the hug and Julie stepped forward to take his backpack off his shoulder, setting it beside the couch and the mattresses that they’d pulled down from the loft. 

“Hi.” She spoke, her nose scrunching up with the greeting that made her eyes sparkle. 

“Hey.” Nick answered in return, unable to take his eyes off Julie for a few long moments before he glanced around the room, noticing the sheet that had been hung up on one of the walls and the projector that sat above the couch. 

“Movie night.” Reggie said excitedly, moving to sit down on the mattress that was situated on the ground, his hand eagerly patting the area next to him and gesturing with his head for Nick to join him. 

Nick lent down to unlace his shoes, setting them beside his backpack and moving to sit down next to Reggie, the bassist immediately leaning against him. 

Julie moved next, moving over to the light switch that was on the wall, her eyes on Nick, “I’m going to turn the lights off, okay?” 

Nick nodded and heard the sound of the click which cast the room into darkness, his heartbeat elevating at the vision of darkness before the projector clicked on above them and soft light filled the room, his stress levels slowly starting to dissipate as the opening of Moana projected onto the sheet. 

They’d already discussed their movie choices for the night, settling on two movies that wouldn’t remind Nick of the  _ incident _ and wouldn’t make his chest feel tight like he couldn’t breathe. 

Julie settled into his side, her movements slow and precise as she got comfortable, only shifting for a few moments before Luke settled on the other side of them, his arm reaching around her shoulders and his fingers brushing against Nick’s bicep. 

Almost towards the end of the second film, Brave, both Julie and Reggie had fallen asleep, the both of them leaning heavily on his shoulders, making him feel grounded and reassured. 

Nick went to move, feeling eyes on him as he slowly manoeuvred his way out to go to the bathroom, he turned his head to glance at Luke who he’d assumed had fallen asleep as well, but it seemed he was wrong. 

“Bathroom.” He explained, voice a little awkward as he stepped over Reggie’s legs and off the mattress, moving towards the bathroom. 

On his return to the room his fingers lingered on the light switch of the bathroom, his stomach knotting at the thought of both this light and the projector being switched off, casting the garage into an eerie darkness. 

Nick presumed he must have stood there for a few minutes, looking up from the white switch at the sound of Luke making his way towards him. 

“We can leave the light on.” He said gently, his voice low, it felt weird associating Luke’s voice with the word gentle, it was usually anything but, all three boys were loud, either with their voices or their instruments and Nick appreciated that, as a musician, but here in the pale light of the bathroom, his fingers hovering over the switch, he thinks he appreciated the gentleness more. 

Nick nodded, glancing up at Luke and inhaling, he could do this. 

He stepped past the brunet, moving back out to the main area of the garage, a smile pulling at his lips as the vision of Reggie and Julie who had radiated towards each other, Julie’s head on the bassist’s chest and his arm curled loosely around her waist. 

Luke waited until he was settled in the bed, next to Julie but no longer in between her and Reggie, the space next to him empty. 

The projector clicked off, casting the room into near darkness, the dim glow coming from the bathroom light that they’d left on. 

Nick settled into the bed, pulling the covers up to his shoulders and closing his eyes tightly, trying to block out the unknown shadows that surrounded the four of them in the room. 

That feeling returned to his stomach, twisting until he felt Luke settle in beside him, “You okay?” He questioned, voice low and hushed. 

Nick swallowed thickly, his mouth going dry and unable to form a sentence, let alone a word. 

The guitarist shifted again and for a moment Nick thought that he was getting up, maybe moving to the other side of the bed to settle in behind Reggie, but instead he felt a strong arm wrap around his shoulders and gently coax him to rest his head on Luke’s chest. 

He exhaled, the twisting in his stomach subsiding as he settled in against Luke, it should have felt awkward, but it didn’t, it just felt right, with Luke under him, Julie behind him and what he was sure was Reggie’s fingers resting gently against his hip. 


End file.
